He's a Motor Citizen by birth with a show slot in Milan, but John Varvatos' heart pumps New York blood. For Fall, so does his collection's. The inspiration, he explained, was the city itself, its juxtaposition of old and new. To open the show, Varvatos screened a film that mashed old and new, too: A montage of New York landmarks, from the Chrysler Building to the Guggenheim, set to warp speed and partially animated.

When the men finally hit the street, literally—the runway was paved—they represented a similar Bronx-to-the-Battery thoroughness. Varvatos said his emphasis was on pieces rather than outfits, which made for a rather salable offering, with plenty of knits (some elongated to outerwear proportions), curly-haired shearlings, and tailoring, in a palette that began subway-gray and darkened to asphalt.